Idris Elba joins the cast of Molly's Games

The 43-year-old actor has nabbed the role of a criminal defence lawyer alongside Jessica Chastain, who will play the lead, in the forthcoming Aaron Sorkin-project.

Speaking to Variety, Sorkin said: "The casting of Jessica and Idris in the two lead roles is any filmmaker's dream come true. They're two of the greatest actors of their generation, paired for the first time, and their chemistry will be electric."

The film will follow the story of Molly Bloom (Chastain), the young Olympic skier, who was arrested for running a high-stakes poker game for eight years before the FBI found her.

Despite having two of the best talents on board the project, it hasn't been an easy ride for bosses as it was announced recently that Sony had pulled out of the production after initially securing the rights to back the forthcoming flick.

Meanwhile, it's been a busy year so far for Elba as he's currently working on The Dark Tower and will next be seen playing Krall in Star Trek Beyond, which is out on 22 July.

And it seems his career is set to get bigger and better as each year goes past as he's also the favourite to play the next James Bond in the spy franchise when Daniel Craig hangs up his suave suit and hand-held gun in the future.